What will become?
by blackrose538
Summary: Stella is missing. Mac and his team are doing everything to find her. While working hard to find Stella Mac has to think about one sentence: "I think she loves you..." So maybe S/M pairing including all characters. I own nothing!
1. Trapped

**First of all: I don't own CSI:NY (wish I would) all characters belong to CBS/Jerry Bruckheimer. **

**What I do own: The story.**

**Summary: **Stella's missing and Mac and his team are working hard to find her. While working hard to find Stella Mac has to think about one sentence: "I think she loves you..." But what will become? Maybe Mac/Stella pairing including all the characters.

**Now:** Enjoy my first SMacked story!

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It was a dark starless night. In an abandoned warehouse at the harbor there was a little room in which an old mattress lay on the floor. It wasn't very bright in this room because it has only one little window. On a little table which stood in one of the corners of the room, right next to the mattress stood a little oil lamp, but it still wasn't very bright.

On the mattress lay a woman with brown, long curled hair. Her face faced the little door which leads to the warehouse. Her eyes were closed and her hands were enamored behind her back. Her feet were also enamored. A tape was put on her mouth so that she couldn't or scream. It was quite cold in this little room and she was all alone.

Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around the room as far as she could from her position. She tried to remember how she got there and what had happened to her, but all she remembered was that she was knocked down by someone in front of her apartment. That was at the evening after she came back from work and she didn't know how much time had passed. She tried to get up so that she could lean her back against the wall, but she couldn't. She tried to scream and realized that there was a tape on her mouth.

She couldn't do anything. Her only chance was to wait until the kidnapper came and tell her what he wanted. She froze but couldn't move, she could not scream she didn't remember anything. She felt helpless.


	2. Memories

It was about 4 in the morning. Mac lay in his bed but couldn't sleep at all. It was one of the nights where he couldn't find any rest. There were too many things on his mind or at least there was one thing on his mind he couldn't let go and actually this was the reason why he couldn't sleep.

The last evening he had a fight with his best friend Stella and she was really angry and he knew she was hurt, too. The reason why they argued was ridiculous. She left his office angry and without looking back to him again. He knew she he'd hurt her.

The rest of that day he felt guilty and he was sorry for their fight but he couldn't manage to call her and say sorry. He knew it wouldn't make any sense, because he thought she wouldn't even answer her phone if he would have called and he didn't want to go to her place, because he knew she wouldn't be there. She wanted to meet a friend that evening and she invited him to go with her, but he wasn't in a good mood that's why they were arguing that evening. She was worried about him and he didn't want her to be worried but he also didn't want to talk to her. That's why she was angry and hurt.

He got up and went to the bathroom and took a shower and then he made himself breakfast. After he cleaned up he sat down and watched TV. It was nearly 5 am now and still it was too early to go to work.

It was 6 am when he left his apartment and made his way to the department. When he went to his office he was all alone in the department. He sat down behind his desk and thought about the last evening again. He would order her to his office and he would say that he's sorry for that fight they had the last night. It drove him crazy that she went away, angry, sad and hurt. Hurt by him. She was his best friend, someone who he could count on, someone who would be always by his site when he needed someone. And she was someone he adores. In some way he loves her. He never would admit that, but every time they fought he felt sad and guilty and if she didn't talk to him because she was angry it drove him crazy.

He took one of the case folders that lay on his desk and start to read it. He wanted to do the paperwork that needed to be done for weeks. He knew that Stella would come about 8 am if there wasn't an emergency. He looked at his watch. He had one and a half hour time to do what he could have done a few weeks ago then he would have to do something which was important for him and his life.

It was 8:10 am when Danny came into his office.

"Morning Mac. Here I am." He greeted.

Mac looked up with a very small smile on his face.

"Good Morning, Danny. How do you feel? Where's Lindsay?" He asked.

"I'm good. She'll come in a few minutes."

"Fine." Mac said and Danny left his office.

After Danny Lindsay came first and then Adam said Good Morning and the last was Hawkes. Mac sat in his office and looked another time at his watch. It was 8:30 am now, but Stella still wasn't there. She hadn't called to say she took a day off and nobody saw her this morning. He watched the traffic report on TV but there wasn't any trouble. Mac wondered and started to worry. Maybe she didn't want to come and she didn't want to call because she didn't want to talk to Mac. But she called nobody.

Mac took his phone and called Flack, but he also didn't know where Stella was. So he called her. But she didn't answer her phone so he left a message at her voice mail hoping that she would call him.


	3. What the hell?

The room still wasn't bright and it still was cold. Daylight came through the little window. The woman had rolled on her back and was looking out of the window.

Must be around 8 am… she thought, the time when I normally went to work… He must be worried about me…

She felt her phone ringing in her pocket. She couldn't hear it because she turned off the sound. It was only vibrating in her pocket.

Mac… I'm sure it's him… and I can't do anything…

Suddenly the door was opened. A man with a black mask was standing in front of her. He had a gun in his hands.

The man wore a black pullover and old blue jeans. On his feet he had old bust sneakers.

"Good Morning Stella." He said.

She looked at him and wanted to say something, but she couldn't. The man went over to her and removed the tape from her mouth.

"You have a good night, dear?" He asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"What do you want from me? Who are you?" Stella asked.

"Hey, who said you're allowed to ask questions? The only right you have in here when I'm here is to ANSWER my questions. You got it, bitch?"

Stella was quiet. She swallowed hard and wasn't able to say a word after that reaction.

What does he want? She thought. She watched him a while. The man was walking from one side of the small room to the other. It seemed that he didn't know what he should do next. Suddenly he turned around to Stella and turned the muzzle of the gun towards Stella.

"I tell ya what I want. I want you out of my way. You're a risk for my plans. And until I didn't finish my plans, you'll stay here in this room, on this mattress and just the way you are now!" He said. His voice was scaring to Stella. She was even more scared when the man pulled his mouth close to Stella's ear and placed the muzzle of his gun right at her head and said: "You understand that?"

Stella nodded.

"Okay. One single sound from you and you're dead. Don't forget that. I'll be back sooner as you don't want me to. But 'till then: enjoy your day off." The man said and walked away.

Stella was all by herself now. She thought about how she could get out of this stupid room and how she could get back to her apartment, even though she wouldn't go home first. She thought about her fight with Mac the other day. She was sad, but she also was hurt by him not telling her what the hell was going on in his mind. He didn't feel good the last days, she knew it. She'd known him for so many years that she could see it on his nose when he wasn't okay. But this time he didn't want to talk to her, for what reason she didn't know. She was upset about that and left him alone. Now, all she wanted to do was going to him and apologize for that stupid fight. She wanted to be okay with him. She didn't want them to fight. Even though she knew that Mac should apologize as well. She knew he would do it. She knew it drives him crazy when they fought and didn't talk to each other, even if he'll never say that.

Can imagine he's thinking I don't want to come to work today because of our fight and I don't want to talk to him…

But if he really knew her he knew that it wasn't her style to stay away from work just because they argued and she was angry with Mac. By the way she wasn't angry anymore. But maybe she'll never get the chance to tell him that.

She tried to feel the chain her hands were bound with. Maybe there was a way to get them off.

She felt that it was some kind of rope and it was bound with a knot.

If I can open that I'd be lucky… Stella though by herself and tried to open her chain.


	4. Missing

Half an hour later when Stella still didn't called Mac he took his gun and his keys and got into his car to drive over to her apartment. He wanted to know whether everything was okay and he wanted to find out what was wrong with Stella.

When he arrived at her apartment he saw her car standing in front of the building. He went up the stairs and knocked at her door. He waited a few seconds and knocked again but nothing happened. Stella didn't open the door. He took his keys out of his pocket and chose one of the keys and opened the door to Stella's apartment.

After she shot Frankie because he was about to kill her she gave Mac a key to her apartment. She wanted that he could get in whenever something could have happened to her. For moments like this. He didn't use that key till today. He was happy that he didn't have to.

It was silent all around Mac. There was no sound in her apartment. It was a little bit haunting.

"Stella?" he called just for the case she was there and would her him, but it still was silent. No answer, no movement, not a single sound. Mac started to look around in her apartment to get some evidence that she at least was here last night. He got into her bedroom. Nothing in this room was a sign that Stella was in here the last few hours. It was the same with the whole apartment. There was no trace that Stella was here tonight. Mac was worried. He couldn't believe that Stella met her friend right after work in the same clothe she worked all day. He knew women. They always changed their clothes before they leave the house to meet a friend and he could understand, because he did chanced his clothes, too before he's going out. At least if he had the chance to.

He went back to the place where he saw Stella's car. He took a close look to it. It wasn't locked. He wondered. He opened the driver's door and analyzed the car. On the seat next to the driver's one lay her bag. He took it and searched it, He felt bad about what he's doing though he knew he had to do it. He found her keys, hey badge and her purse. He took the purse and opened it. He didn't get the feeling that something was missing in that purse. He also found her keys in the bag. What he didn't find was her gun. He knew that Stella took her gun with her in her bag. So everything made the impression that someone kidnapped Stella for some reason and took the gun with him but left everything else behind. Mac took Stella's badge and her keys and put it into his pocket. He went to his car and got the bag with the investigation set and started to look for traces. Only thing he found was some blood at the frame of the door on the passenger's side. He locked the car and made his way back to the department.

~ & ~

When Mac came back to the department Flack was waiting for him. When Flack saw Mac coming in he made his way to him.

"Mac!" he called him.

Mac looked at him and made his way to Flack.

"What's up?" Mac asked his friend and colleague.

"Ten minutes ago a young woman came in and asked for Stella and when I told her she isn't here she wanted to speak to you. I brought her to your office. I hope this is okay."

"Yeah. Who's the woman?"

"Her name is Lisa McCaine. She said she's a friend of Stella."

"Yes, she is. I know her. She was the woman Stella wanted to meet yesterday. She asked if I want to go with them, but I wasn't in that mood. Maybe I should have gone with her."

"You didn't find her, right?"

"No. She wasn't at home, she never were in her apartment yesterday. I found her car standing I front of the house. It was open and her bag with her keys and badge was still in it. I think she was kidnapped, so she's missing and we have a case to work on right now. I'll go and talk to Ms McCaine and I want you ask her neighbors if anybody saw something strange. I can't believe that she didn't try to get people's attention. I analyzed the car and found some traces that I'll give to Danny or Lindsay." Mac said.

"Okay. I'm on my way." Flack said and made his way out of the building to do, what Mac asked him to.

Mac his self went to the Lab and gave Lindsay the traces he found in Stella's car and then he went into his office finding a young blonde woman waiting for him.

"Hello Lisa. You wanted to talk to me?" He greeted.

"Hi Mac. Yes, I wanted to talk to you and I still want it. I'm worried."

"Stella told me you two wanted to go out yesterday."

"Yes but she called me and said she had a hard day and she wants to go home. She sounded sad and so I asked her what happened and she told me that you two had a little fight. So she canceled the meeting and said she wants to meet me today and I said I'll call her this morning to ask if she has the time to meet me."

"So you called her this morning?"

"Yes. I called her two hours ago. She didn't answer and I've waited one hour and after she didn't call me back I came here to see if she's here. I called her on my way here but she didn't answer. Detective Flack told me she wasn't here today so I decided to wait for you. She's missing isn't she?" Lisa asked with a sad tone in her voice.

Mac didn't want her to be worried but he couldn't lie to her. She was a good friend of Stella and she had the right to know what happened to her friend.

"Yes. I came from her apartment. She wasn't in her apartment yesterday and also she wasn't there today. I found traces that made me think she was kidnapped yesterday after she got home." He said.

"Oh my god…" Lisa said nearly crying.

"Lisa, do you have any idea who did this? Did Stella tell you she had problems with someone?" Mac asked her.

"No, she never told me something like that. You are her best friend and ever if she had problem she told you first. Often she didn't tell me anything about it and I didn't ask, because I wanted her to have some fun and to forget about problems and work."

"Okay. Thank you, Lisa. We'll find the guy who did this, okay?"

"I know. You always find the bad guys. Sometimes she told me about her job and she talks about you very often. She loves you, Mac."

Mac was surprised to hear that from Lisa. He wondered if Stella told her she loves him.

"Did she say it?" He asked her still a little bit surprised.

"No, not exactly but I think so. She has a special way to talk about you. She never talked that way when she told me about a man she likes." Lisa said and stood up.

Mac couldn't say anything else so he stood up as well.

"I know you find this guy. If you have any questions I'm trying to help you, okay?" Lisa said.

"I'll call you when there's something new." Mac said and Lisa left his office.

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**So, how did you like it so far? Please review!!!**


	5. No way

**So here are two more chapters! Hope you like it! **

**By the way: Catulicious, rocksmacked: Thanks for adding this story to favorite and thanks for reviews! It made me feel very happy to read that you like my story :)**

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Stella was still trying to free her hands, but the knots were too tight. She couldn't open it. But there was nothing else to do so she kept on trying. Suddenly the door was opened and her kidnapper went in again. Again he held the gun in his hands pointing at her. This time there was no tape on her mouth so she could speak to him if she wanted to, but this time she hadn't anything to say.

"Tell ya somethin'. I'll take ya out of here and go to a small bathroom. You can go in and do what ever ya want to and then come out and I'll bring ya back in here. Got that?" The man said.

Stella was surprised but didn't let him know that. Instead of letting him know she nodded. There was a little chance to escape for her now. In case he was alone it maybe wouldn't be that hard to get away from him. But she had to wait for that special moment.

The man opened the chains on her feet and put her up to them. He held the muzzle of the gun against her head and from behind her he whispered in her ear.

"One single try to escape or one false step an' you're dead. Hope you're really that smart as everybody says you are."

Then he pushed her forward and out of the room. She looked around carefully to get an image of her surroundings. She realized that she was in a warehouse and from outside she could hear the sound of moving water.

Could be the harbor. But I guess the old part that isn't used very often… She thought. She was pushed through the warehouse and into a little room on the other side of the building. The man put his hand on the chains on hers and said in a threatening voice: "Remember, one mistake and you'll never see your boyfriend again."

My boyfriend? Does he know something I don't know? she thought. And as he could read her thought he said "I saw him go into your apartment, that Detective Taylor. I know he's your boyfriend, why else should he have a key to your apartment…"

Stella knew that Mac wasn't her boyfriend but if that guy wants to believe he was, okay, than he should believe in that. He pushed Stella into the little bathroom and closed the door behind her. The room was really small. There was only a little sink and of course a toilet. The only window in that room was a small slot near the ceiling. In front of it were bars. So there was no way out of here. Stella did what she thought she couldn't do for the rest of the day or at least for several hours and then she got out of the room.

When she opened the door she was greeted by the muzzle of her own gun. She recognized it as hers. The man grabbed her hand and turned it onto her back and then took the other hand and she was cuffed again. No way out.

Stella decided to be the good prisoner. She wanted to get out of here alive.


	6. Homicide

Mac sat in his office thinking about the fact that Stella was missing. He couldn't get through this fact after he had argued with her yesterday. He knew it wasn't his fault that she was missing now, but he blamed his self for arguing with her and didn't call her the same evening to apologize. Lindsay told him that the blood he found in Stella's car belonged to an unknown man. That didn't help them anyway.

The sound of his ringing phone on the desk reminded him of reality.

"Taylor." He answered the phone.

"Hey Mac, this is Flack. We have two bodies in central park. Looks like homicide. Hawkes and Danny are on their way." Flack said.

"I'm on my way." Mac answered and took his gun and jacket and went out of his office to the crime scene Flack was waiting at.

~ & ~

When Mac arrived at the crime scene Flack made his way to him. Hawkes and Danny arrived just a few minutes before Mac and Hawkes examined the body while Danny analyzed the crime scene.

"Who is our victim?" Mac asked.

"Our victim is female. Her name is Cassandra Burnett, 24 years old, killed by a bullet." Flack explained.

"Okay. Who found her?"

"Phil Don. He said he was jogging with his dog when his dog followed a trace it found and discovered the body of that dead woman."

"Thanks Don." Mac said and went over to the body and to Hawkes hoping for further information.

"Hawkes, what do we know about her? Time of death, cause of death, any specifics?"

"Time of death was around midnight and 2 am this morning. Cause of death could be the bullet in her chest which went straight into her heart, but it's still in her body. I'll know more about it after the autopsy. But what I can definitely say is that she wasn't killed here. This isn't the original crime scene, too little blood around here. And she fought with her killer. There are scratches on her hands and wrists and she also has bruises on her arms and two of her nails are broken." Hawkes said.

"Okay."

Mac took a look at the young woman trying to find something else, but there was nothing specific.

Danny was searching the crime scene for any traces that could lead them to the killer. But there was nothing. This place seemed like it was cleaned up after the corpse was placed here. Mac came up to Danny.

"Found something?" He asked the young CSI.

"Nothing… Seems like this place was cleaned up after the body was placed or our killer is a ghost." Danny said seriously.

"Maybe our killer covered the tracks after he brought her here. But there must be plenty of traces at the original crime scene. And Hawkes said she fought with her killer so maybe she scratches him and we'll find some skin under her nails."

"Do you think he raped her before he killed her?"

"I didn't ask Hawkes about that but I didn't see any signs that would lead to the fact that she was raped. But I think Sid will tell us more after he autopsied her."

Danny nodded. After the dead body was picked up and brought to the morgue they left the crime scene. On the way to the department Mac called Flack to ask him for the address of the victim's home. Flack gave it to him and Mac asked him to meet him there.

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**So I hope you like the developement so far... New chapters are coming soon, I hope... Probably I wont have much time because of school and so on, but I'm trying to write my story and add new chapters. **

**Please review! Don't forget that. And I wont bite you if you find bad mistakes in my story an tell me about that. I'm only a good English student and I'm happy to learn more and improve my lenguange :) **

_blackrose538 ®_


	7. Are you sure?

**Here's a new chapter! Just want to add that I changed my way of writing so that's a little bit easier to see when people are thinking something (This will be written cursive). **

**It's a little bit shorter I think but I'm writing on a new chapter. Don't know, when I'll publish my new one.**

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Back in her small room Stella had decided to be the good girl. It made no sense to struggle as long as the guy had her gun and wasn't to chance to change that fact so far. Stella had assigned to try to free her hands. There was no way to do that at the moment. Maybe she could convince her kidnapper that there was no risk if he would let her hands free. He could lock the door and there was no way out for her. She decided to try it. She was hoping to be good enough to convince that guy. She was a woman she had her charm and her tricks. All she had to do right now was waiting. Something she got used to over the years. When a trace was analyzed she had to wait for the results, if a suspect wasn't telling the truth she had to wait for the right moment to prove it. All the time she had to wait for something but even if she was waiting in the lab she had always something to do and if it was only the hated paperwork. But now waiting was the hell for her because she had nothing else to do. Moreover it was still cold in that room and she began to freeze again. That was another reason why she was impatiently waiting for that guy.

Several hours later the door was opened slowly and the kidnapper appears in the small room. He closed the door behind him and leaned himself again the wall next to the door. He looked at Stella, but when she looked at him it seemed like he was looking through her.

He said nothing. He just stared into nothing. His look was a mixture between tiredness and regret. Stella watched him a while before she thought of saying something.

She cleared her throat to get his attention, but he didn't notice it.

"You okay?" Stella asked. It's not that she really wanted to know but she hated the fact that he was standing there staring into nowhere and didn't notice nothing. And by the way, she was only a little curious. Maybe she found a way to get his trust when she simulates that she was interested in his thoughts and feelings.

He looked at her with a small frown.

"What ya want? Can't you just sit there and be quiet? Be happy that ya not alone." He said angrily.

"Sorry? Normally when you come in you have a plan. You look like you don't know what to do and you regret something." Stella said calmly and discreetly.

"What's that to you?" He shouted at her.

Stella swallowed.

_Okay… that doesn't work. _She thought. _I really like to know what he did before he came here. Why did he want me out of his way? I mean I don't know him and probably I didn't see him before._

"It's none of my business, I know but I'm just trying to understand why you're doing this." Stella tried it again.

"You're trying to understand me? Impossible. You can't understand me. No one does." The man said. This time his voice had a calm but sad tone.

"Why didn't you give me a chance to understand you?"

"Why do ya want to understand me? That doesn't change your situation and that's going to change nothing!"

"Let me try it."

"You're trying to play tricks on me!" He screamed. "I'll do nothing. You gonna stay here and I'll leave to finish my plans and when I finished them this gonna be over for you."

"You could let me go now. That doesn't make any difference." Stella said.

"Who said I'm gonna let ya go?"

"What else do you want to do then?"

"What do you think? Do you think I would let a witness go so she could run to the police and tell 'em everythin'?"

"I didn't see anything. I don't know what you done since now and by the way I'm a cop so that wouldn't change anything."  
"That's the reason why you gonna die after this."

"You do nothing with me. So why didn't you kill me yet? You could have done it before bringing me here." Stella said. She got the reason on her mind but she wanted to hear it.

"I need you in case that your boyfriend tries to throw a monkey wrench in my plans. You're a good weapon against him."

"He wouldn't let you go."

"We'll see. If he wants you back, he'll have to."

"You don't know Mac Taylor. He'll be after you wherever you'll go. And if you'll hurt me, he would be furious." Stella said and watched the man.

He was watching her, too but he said nothing.

"Listen, you can't change your fate. I made it and there's no way to change that." His voice became a threatening tone.

"Are you sure?" She asked snippy.

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**Sorry that its ending that fast but I wanted to make it more suspenseful :) Hope you like it :)**

**As I said I'm writing on the next chapter. But next week and the week after next week I'll have three exams and so I will not have that much time to write. But I'm doing my best, promised. **


	8. Satisfaction and Shock

**I had the time to finish a new chapter, today :) probably this will change at the weekend because of exams. :( But I'm doing my best :)**

**I don't know whether you'll like this chapter because it was hard to write how this story will go on but I tried my best to do it the best way I could and actually I'm quite satisfied with this chapter :)**

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Mac arrived at the house where Cassandra Burnett lived. Actually it was an apartment she was living in. Flack waited in front of the apartment building.

"Hi. You took the keys with you?" Flack said.

"Yeah. There were in her pocket. Sid gave them to me. So let's see whether we'll find our crime scene." Mac answered.

Mac and Flack went inside the apartment building and looked for the apartment where Cassandra lived in. It was number 484. They found it on the third floor. The door wasn't closed so they didn't need a key to get inside. Mac and Flack held their guns in their hands and went in. They held the guns just in case that someone was inside now.

"Seems like we found what we were looking for." Mac said and put the gun back into the halter on his belt.

This apartment looked like someone had a fight. The chairs where knocked over and it was messy. Things were lying on the floor which didn't belong there. Mac made his way to the kitchen which was a single room. He found what he was looking for. Everywhere in the kitchen was blood. Most of it was on the floor but the counters and wall cupboards also had blood on them. Near the puddle of blood lay a knife on the floor. It had blood on it, too. Mac, now wearing gloves held the knife in his hands and looked at it.

"Maybe there's blood of her killer on it." Flack said as he came into the kitchen as well.

"Maybe. Lindsay or Danny will find that out." Mac answered.

"Do you want to call them?"

"No, I think I can handle this, too. I'm right back." Mac said and left the apartment to get his Investigation kit. Then he came back and started to analyze the crime scene.

He found a hair in the blood and a fingerprint at the doorknob. He put the knife into an evidence bag and then they left the apartment and went back to the crime lab. Mac brought the evidence from the original crime scene to Danny and Lindsay. He actually wanted to go to Sid afterwards but Lindsay was calling him when he was about to leave.

"I just got the result for the bullet Sid found in the vic's body. I have good news and I have bad news. Which one you like to hear first?" She asked.

"Tell me the good one."

"I found the gun it belonged to."

"And the bad thing is?"

"It belonged to Stella's gun. It was fired with her gun."

Mac couldn't say something. He was surprised and shocked at the same time. He was surprised that the bullet was from Stella's gun and he was shocked because that made Stella the main suspect in that case and he can't believe that she should be the one who shot an innocent woman in her apartment.

"Thanks Linds. Good job." Mac said and left the lab to go into his office. He had to think about what he heart.

**I hope you liked it. I like reviews :) and by the way: BIG THANKS TO narutoprincess for reading and reviews :) I'm happy that there are people who like this story :)**

**_blackrose538 ®_**


	9. Sowdown

**And here it is: Chapter 9! It took me a while to find a way how to continue this story but finally I found a good way. **

**I hope you like it!!! Probably I won't have much time to continue my story this week because I'm goint to write an exam in maths on friday. So please be patient with me! I'm doing my best!**

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"Listen, you can't change your fate. I made it and there's no way to change that."

"Are you sure?"

::

Stella looked at her kidnapper with a fighting look in her eyes. The man stood in front of her but he didn't hold the gun in his hand. Stella couldn't see it so maybe he had it behind his back or somewhere else.

"What do you mean?" The man asked angrily. He did exactly what Stella expected.

"I just wanted to say that every man is the architect of his own fortune." Stella said calmly.

The man stood in silence for a few seconds. He thought about what she'd said that was obvious.

"Are you goin' to tell me that your fate and your life isn't in my hands right now?"

"You're good. That's what I wanted to say."

"You're kiddin' me? What ya want to do? Cry for mercy?"

"Maybe."

"You're not thinkin' that would work, aren't you?"

"You aren't as bad as you're acting right now. Whatever you did before coming back it makes you nonprofessional. I see that on your face and I see it on the way you came in and stood there. Whatever you've done it seems like you regret it." Stella said gently.

Her plan seemed to work. Her kidnapper was upset with her but he was confused at the same time. Seems like he fell for her trick. And that's what should make her a free man if everything went good.

"You're talkin' to me like all of these educators at the orphanage did. You don't know anything about my life. You don't know what it's like to be alone and to be fooled all the time. You haven't any idea how I am and what I regret and what not!" The man yelled.

He said in truth what Stella expected to be true. He was from an orphanage and he was fooled by someone because of a fact she didn't know yet. Maybe he met the wrong people all the time. Kids from orphanages tent to do that. She knew it from many kids from the orphanage she lived in. She put many of them into prison.

"Oh I do know what it's like to be alone! I was alone many times in my life. I know what it's like to grow up in orphanages." Stella said.

The man was surprised. He didn't seem to know that Stella lived in orphanages when she was a child. That could be her chance. The man stood in surprise and didn't say anything. Stella knew it was the first time he did this or he just kidnapped people who weren't that tough and brave as Stella was. He was nonprofessional as Stella told him and she knew how to use this. She just had to wait for the perfect moment.

"Hell you're just a woman! You don't know what it's like to grow up there as a boy! I haven't had a real family and all of these women tricked me just to have their fun. No one of them had real feelings." He said with an angry voice.

"And what do I have to do with those women?" Stella asked.

"You're a detective. You're one of the best you're in my way for my revenge. You would have made a fool of me. But now that you're here you can't stop me."

"But there are many other detectives who can."

"No because they believe that you did what I've done. All the evidence will point at you." He said with a grin.

_You don't know Mac. _Stella thought. _He'll find me and he'll find you and he'll put you into jail where you belong to._

"You don't know my boss. He'll find out what you did." Stella said.

"Your 'boss' is looking for you and he'll be blinded by me. I'll testify as a witness in my last murder. And that's what I'm going to do now. I will finish my revenge, now." The man said and turned to leave. As he had his back in Stella's direction she could see the gun in his trousers waistband. That was her chance. She quickly got up and put her hands out of the chains. She reached for the gun in his waistband and pulled it out of it. She unlocked the gun and pointed it towards her kidnapper who had turned around and faced her.


	10. Final spurt

Mac sat in his office and thought about the news he got from Lindsay. The bullet which killed Cassandra came from Stella's gun. Mac thought she was missing but the fact that he found her car open and he didn't find her gun and he found blood of an unknown man on her car could be seen as a false trace Stella created. Mac knew she didn't do anything like that but he also knew that this case would be solved by the Internal Affairs because a detective would be the main suspect. He had to cede this case to another department. No matter if he wants or not. But as long as nobody came to take this case he would keep investigating. At least he would keep trying to find Stella.

_Can't believe she did this… but she's not at home, she's not here and she didn't answer her cell phone. I know that other people will believe in the evidence and at this moment all the evidence point at her. But I know she's innocent. She didn't do something like that. Now it's my job to prove that... I need to find her..._

Don Flack opened the door to his office and pulled him back to reality. Flack looked at Mac with a worried look in his eyes.

"Hey Mac you're okay?" he asked.

"Depends on what kind of well being you mean." Mac replied.

"Excuse me?" Flack didn't really get what Mac was trying to tell him.

"If you mean my physical well being then yes, I'm okay. But if you mean my mental well being then I'm not okay."

"It's about Stella, isn't it?"

"Lindsay analyzed the bullet which killed our vic Cassandra. It came from Stella's gun. This case involves a detective as a main suspect and you know what that means. I can't keep investigating this case because that detective belongs to my team. That involves me and that involves all of us. If Sinclair finds out that Stella's the main suspect and I investigate this case all alone he will knock the stuffing out of me. All I can do is trying to prove that she's innocent."

"That's a hard job if Internal Affairs starts to investigate this case. I mean at this time all the evidence point at Stella. And these guys manage to see the blood on her car and the fact that it was open as a false trace."

"I know. And they won't believe that her keys lay in the car because I took them and locked the car. I have them here. We have to find Stella before anybody else gets wind of this case."

"Did you try to locate her cell phone?" Flack asked.

Mac was shocked. He put his hands on his forehead.

"It didn't come into my mind. Don't know why but I didn't have that idea."

Mac accused himself of that 'mistake'. He should have that idea much earlier. They could have found Stella if he had that idea earlier.

He stood up and made his way to the lab where Adam was working on some evidence.

"Mac? I have nothing for you. Sorry." Adam said. But then he saw the look on Macs face and asked: "What can I do for you?"

"We need to locate Stella's cell phone. Hopefully we'll find her with the help of her phone." Mac said.

Adam went to one of the computers and typed something. He opened a program and typed Stella's cell phone number into the computer and the program started to localize the phone. Finally the program showed an address. It was the address of the harbor. But the old part which wasn't used for years.

"There are a lot of abandoned warehouses at this area. We need some people to search this area." Mac said.

"I'm on it." Flack said.

"You need me out there?" Adam asked his boss.

"No. I need you here in the lab. Observe her cell phone and call me if there's a changing of the location."

"Okay."

Mac and Flack left the lab and on the way to his car Mac called Danny and Lindsay and ordered to join them. A few minutes later Flack had called for assistance and they were on their way to the harbor.

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**So this was my new chapter... I know it went on very fast but I didn't have any better idea how to go on... Sorry... I hope you like it :)**

**_blackrose538 ®_**


	11. Fight for freedom

**And here it is: The new chapter :) Thank you for reviews and reading my story! I'm happy to know that there are people who like my work :) and now enjoy the next chapter!!!**

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"One single move and you're dead." She threatened him.

During her time in this room she tried to open her chains and finally she managed it. She had it put back for the case that guy came back. She had waited for that perfect moment to get back her gun.

The man was surprised and upset at the same time. Stella picked up one of the ropes.

"Turn around with your face to the wall and put your arm behind your back." Stella said. The man did what he was told to and turned around to face the wall. He put his arms behind his back. Stella went over to him to cuff his hands with the rope but as she put it around his wrists the man suddenly turned around and slapped the gun out of her hand. Stella ran to pick it up again but she was pushed by her kidnapper and felt to the ground. Her head hits the floor and she got a laceration over her eyebrow and it started to bleed. The kidnapper picked up the gun and pointed the muzzle at her. She looked up to him with a little fear in her eyes.

"Get up and move yourself back to your place!" The man yelled. Stella hesitated. The man went over to her and took her wrist and pulled her up to her feet. Then he pushed her to the mattress and she again fell down but this time she didn't get hurt. With the sleeve of her jacket she wiped the blood off her face so that it doesn't run into her eye. The man still pointed the gun at her.

"What were you thinkin'? Did you think you could fool me like that?" The man asked. Stella didn't answer.

"You're just like all the women I met before. I thought you'd be smarter. But now you're trapped here forever. I think you'll never gonna see your boyfriend again." He said.

"He'll find me. I know he'll come for me." Stella said.

"You sure that he come before it's too late?" Stella said nothing.

"See. He's not the perfect hero isn't he? He'll not be here when you die. He can't rescue you."

"Do you really think you can kill me that easy? Do you really think he'll never catch you?"

"How can he catch me if there's no trace from me? I never was in here and I never met you and I didn't kill you."

"He'll find out."

"You sure?"

"I know it."

"He's not a perfect hero, babe."

"But he's a perfect detective."

"Do you think so? Did he always catch the bad guys?"

Stella can't say anything. If she would say yes she'll be lying.

"You see he's not perfect. And he can't rescue you from death."

"He can. He never let me down."

"But he's not here."

"He'll never let me down. He's always there."

"He's not here babe."

Suddenly Stella pushed herself back to her feet and lunged at him. He started to hit him and tried to get her gun again. Suddenly the gun shot one single bullet. It hit Stella's abdomen and finally the man way able to push her away. She felt down on the mattress and her abdomen bleed very much.

The man watched at her and dropped the gun on the floor before he started to run away.


	12. Passing out

**So I finished two new chapters and here they are :) Hope you like it :) I#m doing my best to finish the story but it's longer than I actually wanted but... as long as you like it I'm happy :) PLEASE: Don't forget the review!!!!! **

**And thanks to my faithful readers!!!!! I'm happy to know that there are people out there who like my story :)**

Mac, Flack, Lindsay, Danny and a few other officers arrived at the abandoned part of the harbor. As a precaution they called an ambulance and the paramedics were waiting by the ambulance in case they needed them.

They began to search the first warehouse but found nothing. When they were on their way to the second one which was a little bit farer away they suddenly heard a shot. Mac and the other stand still for a few seconds.

"It came out of the warehouse." Mac said and they started to run towards the building. A few seconds before they arrived at the building a man with a black ski-mask ran out of the building. He saw the policemen and started to run to another direction.

"Stand still!" Mac called but the man kept running. Mac ordered the others to catch the guy as he ran into the warehouse. It was dark inside and he stopped in the doorway to attune to the darkness. Then he slowly started to walk through the warehouse.

"Stella?" He called the name of his partner. There was no answer.

"Stella?" He called again but a little bit louder.

"Mac?" He heard the weakly voice of his partner. Mac ran to the door he could see and which was open. When he arrived there he could see Stella laying on a mattress and he saw that she was bleeding.

"Stella." He said and put the gun back into the halter. He kneeled down next her.

"Mac…" Stella said weakly.

"Shh… save you energy." He said and looked at the wound. He pressed his hands on it to stop the bleeding but he knew she would pass out and he knew he couldn't stop the bleeding without anything to press on but his hands.

"Hey… Stell, hang on, okay? Stay with me, come on…" He said and tried to keep her awake.

"I'm… trying… to…" she said quiet.

"Put your arm around my neck, okay? Try it."

She put her arm around his neck and he picked her up in his arms to carry her to the ambulance they brought with them. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You'll be okay." He said.

"I know." She replied calmly.

The paramedics saw them and pulled out the barrow. Mac placed her gently on it and walked a few steps back to let the paramedics do their job. They hurried to put the barrow back into the ambulance because Stella lost her consciousness.

Mac watched them with a worried look on his face. Flack walked over to him.

"Hey Mac, we got him. I just wanted you to know that." He said quietly.

"Thanks Don. You did a good job." Mac replied through his thoughts.

"You did a good job, too, never forget that." Flack knew that Mac was watching the paramedics doing there job with Stella. He knew that Mac's thoughts would be with her all the time so that it would be hard for him to work on that case.

"Go with her." Don said.

"What?" Mac replied his thoughts back in reality.

"I said you should go with her. I know you want it and I know she needs her best friend."

Mac couldn't help but look at Flack in surprise. He never expected that it was that it was that obvious to Flack what he was thinking about.

"You're worried about her you're worried about the case but hey, you could stay with her that what she needs and you can let us do our job. I think we can handle this without you this time. We contend with this guy Mac." Flack said.

Mac looked to the ground. He was surprised and a little bit ashamed that Flack could read his thoughts and feelings that good. He always thought he could hide his feelings from others but there were some persons who knew him so well that he could do anything to hide his thoughts and feelings and they will know them anyway.

"Thank you Don." Mac said shyly and then made his way to Stella and the paramedics.

"I know how much she means to you. I promise I'll put this guy behind bars. But you know we need Stella's statement."

"I'll care for that personally. You call me when there's something new okay?"

"Sure. Tell her that she's not allowed to go, okay?" Flack said serious.

"I promise I will tell her." Mac said with a small smile.

Then the ambulance left the place.


	13. Connections

Danny and Lindsay were back in the lab. Hawkes had analyzed the evidence that was found in Cassandra Burnett's apartment. He had analyzed the blood from the knife and he found something very interesting for Mac. As Lindsay came into the lab Hawkes looked up from his work.

"Hey Lindsay. You find Stella?" He asked.

"Yes… She's in hospital right now and Mac's with her. Flack told him we'll get along without him this time." She answered.

"Is she okay?"  
"Her kidnapper shot her and she was unconscious. I didn't talk to Mac since we left that place."

"I hope she'll be fine. I found something very interesting while you were out there to rescue Stella."

"What is it?"

"I found a connection between Stella's kidnapping and the murder. I analyzed the DNA from the knife Mac found in Cassandra's apartment and the computer told me that it was the same DNA then the blood on Stella's car."

"So Stella's kidnapper also killed Cassandra. Maybe that man we caught at the harbor. I think he was the shooter and he was the kidnapper. But we can ask his DNA." Lindsay said with a smile and called Danny who was in the interrogation room with Flack. She told him what Hawkes had told her before. Danny promised to take a DNA sample from this man.

"Did you tell Mac about it?" Lindsay asked Hawkes.

"Not yet. He didn't answer his phone when I called him but I'll try again.

~ & ~

Flack and Danny were in the interrogation room to interrogate the man they caught at the harbor. The man who probably kidnapped Stella and who killed Cassandra as Lindsay told Danny a few seconds before. From his ID Flack had figured out that this man was called Carl Wayne and Danny found traces of gunpowder on Carl's hands so they could identify him as the one who shot Stella. Lindsay brought Stella's gut to Adam so that he could analyze it for fingerprints.

"So once again Carl, why have you kidnapped and almost killed Detective Bonasera?" Flack asked.

"As I told you before I only wanted to prevent that she throws a monkey wrench in my plans." Carl answered.

"What plans? Killing a young innocent woman?!"

"Innocent!? Want to make me laugh? She wasn't innocent." Carl said grimly.

"Killing a woman doesn't seem to be a big deal for you. Did it before?"

Carl looked at Flack with an inscrutable look on his face.

"What do you think?" He asked snippy. Danny and Flack didn't answer.

"What was your plan? Didn't you know, that there are much more detectives in New York who are as good as Stella is? You should've kidnapped the whole department to finish you plan." Danny said sarcastically.

"You cops always think you're the best and you can solve every crime. But you don't know how people feel when they were fooled."

"Oh I know how it feels to get fooled but I don't go out there and kill innocent people."

"They weren't innocent!" Carl yelled. Danny looked at Flack in surprise.

"They? Who are they?" Flack asked.

"I think you found them?"

"We were talking about Cassandra Burnett and she's only one woman so who else are you talking about?"

"You'll find out who's the second little bitch." Carl said.

"Okay. Tell us something about Cassandra then. Why did she have to die?" Don asked.

"Tell you what: She was a bitch who played with men. She deserved to die. One of my best friends did suicide because she played with him and she also played with me. What would you do with a bitch like that?"

"I wouldn't kill her. I would live my life and do what I did before I met her." Danny said.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely, I wouldn't sit here in front of you if I wasn't."

"Where did you get to know her Carl?" Flack put himself back into the interrogation.

"As I said she was the girlfriend of my best friend Michel and he brought her to a party one day. He was kinda proud of having her and when I saw her the first time I could understand why. But then she left her because of another man and he killed himself because he wanted to marry her and she pushed him away like that. After she heard that Michel killed himself she started an affair with me. I was stupid enough to be taken by her. Then she did the same thing with me. She slept with me and the other day she went away. She did that with many other men. That's why I killed her: she shouldn't do that with any other man. I saved the men."

"Sounds like a confession. That will make the jurors mild. Tell us who the other woman is."

"You'll have to find that out on your own."

"Great. And you'll go behind bars for that time. Officer bring him out of here." Flack said.

"So we have a connection between Carl and the first vic Cassandra and we have a connection between the kidnapping and him. Hopefully we'll find the second woman before it is too late, however I think it will be too late." Danny said.

Flack wanted to reply something when his phone rang.

"Flack?" He answered. He listened to someone on the other side and then hung up.

"I think you're right. It's too late. We've got another homicide." He said to Danny.

"So let's go then. I'll call Hawkes and Lindsay." Danny said and they made their way out of the building.


	14. I think she loves you

**So here we go! Chapter number 14!!! I hope you like it!!!**

**THANK YOU FOR REVIEWS!!!!! It's making me happy to know you like my story but you can also critizise what I'm doing ;) especially my languange. I know, I'm not perfect :)**

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Mac sat in the waiting room in the hospital where Stella was brought to. He took is cell phone and dialed a number. The phone rang two times and then a female voice answered his call.

"Hello?"

"Hello Lisa. It's me, Mac." Mac said to Stella's best friend.

"Mac! Did you find Stella?" Lisa asked. She was worried.

"Yes. We found her. She's in surgery right now and I'm waiting here to get some good news."

"Thanks to god that you found her. What happened to her?"

"She was shot. She passed out before we reached the ambulance. She wasn't in a very good condition."

"Will she survive?"

"I think she will. She's a tough person you know. She's a fighter."

"You'll stay at her site till she's okay?" Lisa asked in a soft tone. Mac hesitated a few seconds because of the way she asked this question. It was more a favour she asked him to do but he knew there was something more behind. She wanted him to stay with her and he guessed she wanted him to be the man on Stella's site.

"I will." He said quietly.

"Thank you Mac. Don't forget about what I told you: I think she loves you more than she ever thought she will. I don't know whether I'll get the chance to visit her but I'll try my best to get there. Which hospital?"

Mac said the name of the hospital and then they finished their call. A few minutes later his cell phone rang.

"Danny?" He answered.

"Hey Mac. Anything new about Stell?" Danny asked his boss.

"No. She's still in surgery. What about the case?"

"We found a connection between the kidnapping and the murder. Cassandra had a relationship with our kidnapper and she left him after they slept together. Carl told us that she did the same thing with his best friend before and this best friend did suicide after she left him. He thought she did this with a lot of man and he confessed that he killed her. It was kind of saving men and revenge. But there was a second homicide and we're on the way to the crime scene. I just wanted to give an update to you."

"Thank you Danny." Mac said and hung up.

A few minutes later a nurse came into the waiting room. She looked around and then made her way towards him.

"Detective Taylor?" the nurse asked.

"Yes?" Mac replied.

"Ms Bonasera just left surgery. She's brought to a room but her condition isn't very good. She's not out of danger. She lost much blood."

Mac nodded lightly.

"Can I go to see her?" he asked nearly in a whisper.

"Of course, I'll show you the way."

~ & ~

"Often visitors think that unconscious patients didn't realize that somebody's with them, but they do. She'll be happy to know that someone's with her." The nurse said before she left them alone.

Mac stood next Stella's bed. He took her hand and squeezed it softly.

"Hey Stell." Mac whispered.

It was hard for him to see her like that but he knew this was better than to see her dead. She was lucky and they were lucky that they weren't too late to rescue her. When he looked at her face he smiled lightly. She was looking so peaceful and relaxed but she also had a little bit of that fighting look she sometimes had when she was chasing a killer.

"You'll be fine." He said more to himself than to her. Then he sat down in the chair next to her bed. He was watching her quite a while when his phone rang again. This time it was Lindsay's number on the display.

"Hey Lindsay, Anything new about the case?" Mac asked her keeping his voice as low as possible.

"Not yet. We're just on our way back to the lab. The victim is Jane Parker. She's only 25 years old. She was killed in the same way as Cassandra." Lindsay said.

"How is Stella?"

"She left surgery about half an hour ago. She's still in that dangerous window. She didn't wake up yet."

"Tell her that we're all thinking of her and she's not allowed to die." Lindsay said. Her voice sounded sat.

"I'll promise."

"How about you Mac? How're you feeling?" Lindsay asked and she sounded worried.

"I'm doing my best. I never wanted to say that but… Now that we found her I'm feeling much better than since yesterday evening. Now it's my turn be there for her and apologize…"

"Mac… I'm sorry. I don't know what happened yesterday but… I know she will not hate you for that. I think she loves you more than she wanted to."

_This is the second time that somebody tells me she thinks Stella loves me… Seem to be very obvious. _Mac thought.

"I don't know anything about that but you know when two friends were arguing there's somebody who needs to apologize and this time it's me who has to say he's sorry."

"I'm sorry if I was too personal to you. It's just because she's my friend, too. Don't forget to think about your own well being, okay?" Lindsay reproved him and then they finished their talking.

_Am I too blind to see what she's feeling? _Mac thought while he was still watching Stella. _Maybe I should figure that out…_

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**Thanks for reading!!!! By the way: I like reviews :)**


	15. Ultimate Evidence

Lindsay was the one who had to talk to Sid. She asked him about the two vics. Cassandra the first woman they found and the latest victim Jane Parker. She entered the room to his 'hideaway'.

"Hey Sid, what can you tell me about our vics?" Lindsay asked.

"Hi Lindsay." Sid answered looking at her a little bit surprised. "I can tell you something about Cassandra Burnett but Jane Parker just arrived. I wanted to examine her just the second before you came in."

"I'm listening."

"COD was the bullet we found in her chest. It injured the acromiothoracic artery. She bled to death. And I found bruises on her wrists and her upper arms which mean that she struggled with her killer before she died."

"Did you find any traces on her body?"

"No. There was nothing left from her killer. He seemed to be very careful."

"Did you found traces of sexual abuse?"

"No. Her killer didn't rape her. But I found something interesting. Our vic was pregnant."

Lindsay looked at Sid in surprise. That was something she didn't expect.

"And how long was she pregnant?"

"Between the first and the second month and she knew it. I found a sonogram in her pocket. It was made by Dr. Winters."

"What about her nails? Did she have epitheliums under her nails?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry, I nearly forgot about that. She had yes. I give them to Adam. Maybe he might found something."

"Okay thank you. Call me when you finished Jane Parker." Lindsay said and left the morgue to go and find Adam.

~ & ~

Lindsay found Adam in the lab. He held his phone in his hands and was about to dial a number when he saw Lindsay coming into the lab.

"Uh hi Lindsay. I just wanted to call you. Sid brought epitheliums he found under Cassandra Burnett's nails. I ran them through the database and there was a match." Adam started.

"So whose skin is it?"

"Carl Wayne."

"So this is the ultimate evidence that Carl was in that apartment. But that's not that important. Danny told me that Carl confessed to the murder." Lindsay said.

"Then this is just in case that he changes his mind." Adam said and he sounded a little disappointed.

"Hey Adam you did a good job though. You know that we have to do our job and it doesn't matter if the perp confesses the murder or not." Lindsay said with a forgiving tone in her voice.

"Yeah I know that. By the way... I analyzed the notebook you brought from the second crime scene. I found video clips on it which were made by a monitoring camera. All the clips show her apartment which means that she had a monitoring camera in her apartment." Adam told Lindsay.

"So maybe the camera was turned on when Jane Parker was killed. Did you find something?"

"I'm working on it. There are many clips. The camera sent the clips directly to the notebook. I guess the camera has an internal memory because all the clips were sent as an e-mail but only once an hour. The camera still films her apartment. But I'll do my best to find something conclusive."

"Thank you Adam." Lindsay said. "Call me or Danny when you found something."

And then Lindsay left the lab. She wanted to analyze traces they found at the second crime scene. And she wanted to talk to Danny who wanted to analyze Stella's gun.

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**So, I think it will take some time before I finish the story because I'm going to write some important exams tomorrow and on thursday so... please be patient. I finished chapter 16 yesterday and maybe I'll publish it during the next few days but I can't promise... **

**Thanks for reading and please give me some feedback! And thanks to my faithful readers and all the lovely reviews!!!! You're making me happy :)**


	16. Back to life

**Hello guys!!!! **

**Wow... the first exams are over now and I'm so happy about that!!! So here's chapter 16!!!! I'll have some more time to write right now I think because tomorrow is the last day before the christmas holidays!!!! **

**I'm thinking of a little Christmas Oneshot. What do you think? **

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In the meantime the day went by fast and it was almost evening now. Mac still sat on the chair next to Stella's bed. She still hadn't wake up by now. Mac took her hand and squeezed it softly.

"Hey… you have to be okay… that's what we're hoping for and… what I'm hoping for… come on… I know you're strong enough to wake up…" He whispered quietly.

Stella didn't move. The only thing he could do right now was watching her breathe and sleep. He thought about the past several hours and he thought about their little struggle and while he was thinking his eyes stared into nowhere.

He didn't know how long he sat there this way when he felt her hand squeezing his softly. He looked at her but her eyes where still closed. A few seconds late she opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times into the damped light around her. Then she turned her head and looked at Mac.

"Hey…" he said softly.

"Hey…" she replied with a weak smile,

"How're you feeling?"

"Don't know… tired and agitated at the same time… it's a strange feeling…" she said calmly.

He stroked her hand gently with his thumb and gave her a small and lucky smile.

"Headache?" He asked.

"Just a little but I can stand it. How about you? You look lucky…" she said astonished. He looked at her in surprise and then chuckled.

"I'm just happy that you're okay and… that I have my best friend and one of my best colleague back." He said and smiled.

She couldn't help but smile.

"Believe me or not but I missed you, too." She said. "Don't know but you're a lot more friendly and sensitive than this guy was and by the way… you didn't shoot me with a gun even though I know you sometime like to." She said with a big smile on her face.

He chuckled and smiled at her.

"So, I see you're okay you even can make jokes again. But… I never really want to shoot you."

"Laughing is the best kind of medicine. You were here all the time?"

"I didn't left till we found you."

Stella was quiet for a few seconds and looked into nowhere before she turned back to face him.

"I'm honoured. Thank you for staying."

"Honestly I haven't any chance."

Stella looked at him surprised.

"What? I didn't force you to I even couldn't do it."

"Don said I have to go. He didn't say it directly but he said something that meant make sure that she'll be fine. He said I should tell you that you're not allowed to go. But that's not necessary anymore." He said with a smile.

"I couldn't leave you all alone without saying goodbye to everybody and… I actually had a plan before this happened to me. I couldn't the thing I wanted and that's why I was upset with you yesterday."

"I'm sorry Stella. I just wasn't in that mood yesterday but I didn't mean to hurt you or something."

"It's okay. Actually… I wasn't really upset with you it was just because I had a plan for that evening…"

"I'm sorry for throwing a monkey wrench in your plans." Mac said quietly.

"It's okay." She said friendly and put one hand on his cheek to stroke it softly one time and then she pulled her hand back.

He smiled shyly.

"You said you wanted to meet Lisa… and after that week I just wasn't in the mood for small talk. Maybe we can make up for it the next few weeks."

"I just wanted to talk to you about something more personal."

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. He didn't expect something like that but he also was curious about what she wanted to talk to him.

"We should make up for it soon I guess."

"We can talk about it right now if you want to."

"Don't know whether this is a good place for personal things."

"We're talking about personal things the whole time so I think it doesn't matter. But we also can wait till I'm home again." She said.

"That sounds better. But I think this will take a little time."

"I know Mac. But I actually want to go home right now."

Mac smiled at her and she smiled back. She looked at him with tired eyes and he understood that she wanted to go home, because he didn't like hospitals very much and that was something they share.

"I think you need some rest, Stell. Want to sleep? Then just do it. I'll be here if you want me to stay."

"Will be nice to have you around. You don't mind?"

"No. Actually I like the idea of staying here with you."

"Thank you." She said shyly but happy.

_Maybe I can do what I planned to do sooner as I thought. _She thought before she fell asleep again.

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**PLEASE review!!!!!!! I want to know whether you like the new chapter and how it's going on! **


	17. A hard day's end

**Hello everybody!!! I finished a new chapter. Probably there aren't many chapters left. Actually I'm working on the last one. But first you can read chapter 17 :)**

**I hope you enjoy and like it! And please: review!!!!**

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Lindsay finished her examinations of the evidence. They found a bloody shoeprint at the crime scene which belonged to Carl Wayne. She also compared the DNA profiles from Stella's car and the knife from Cassandra Burnett's apartment with the DNA sample which they took from Carl Wayne. It was a perfect match. All evidence proved the guess that Carl Wayne was the perp or at least that he was at the crime scenes. After she finished her work she went over to the room where Danny analyzed Stella's gun.

"Hey honey. Finished the gun?" She asked her husband.

"Yep. I found fingerprints on it and they belong to our suspect who already confessed the murder." Danny answered.

"Fine so we got him. Adam found out that Jane Parker had a monitoring camera in her apartment. He's looking for some clips of the time when she was killed. Besides the shoeprint we found in Jane's apartment belongs to Carl Wayne."

"So that proves that Carl also killed Jane."

"No Danny. It only proves that he was at the crime scene." Lindsay said as her cell phone rang.

"Monroe." She answered and then she listened to the person who called her.

"Okay. I'm on my way." She said.

"Adam found the last peace of the puzzle." She said to Danny before she left to meet Adam.

~ & ~

Adam sat in front of the computer were he watched the clips from Jane Parker's monitoring camera. He just found the last peace of the puzzle to prove that Carl Wayne killed Jane Parker, too. Lindsay entered the room and looked at him.

"Well, it happened this morning just one hour after he killed Cassandra Burnett. I found the time when Carl entered her apartment. Look at his hands Lindsay. He didn't carry anything. And now the time when he left the apartment: He held a gun in his hands." Adam said.

"That proves he was at the crime scene and I think it also proves that he shot her. Good job Adam." Lindsay said and then she left the room to call Flack.

She told her what they found out and that the evidence prove Carls story. After she had finished the conversation with Don her phone rang again. It was Sid who told her that Jane Parker was killed in the same way as Cassandra Burnett. He also found the bullet and he said that he would bring it up to her.

Just ten minutes later she compared the bullet from Jane's body with the bullet from Cassandra's body and she found a perfect match.

"We got him even though he confessed the first murder we got him for the second." Lindsay said to herself and then called Don.

They finished their work for today. Carl Wayne was put into prison for the time it took to get an appointment at the court.

After they told Carl that they found the second body and after they let him know that he was going to prison Lindsay called Mac to tell him the news.

Mac told her that they did a good job and he told her that Stella would be fine and that he'll stay with her at the hospital for a while.

"She's going to be fine. Let's go home for today." Lindsay said to the others after she finished her call.

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**I know this chapter was some kind of useless but I thought I should write something about the work and the results. I hope you liked it though. **


	18. Finally

**And here it is! The final chapter of this story! Thanks to all the kind and faithful readers and thanks for your lovely review!!!! I'm glad to know that there are people who like my work :) **

**Enjoy it!!! I hope you like it :)**

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One week later Stella could leave the hospital.

She was packing her bag when someone knocked gently at the door.

"Come in." She said. She didn't know who would come into her room and so she was surprised to see Mac.

"Mac! What are you doing here? I thought you were home enjoying your day off."

"Actually I was at home. But you said you can go home today and I had the idea to come and take you home. And by the way… I found the keys to your apartment in your car and I picked them up so I think I have something you need to get in." Mac said handing her the keys. "I didn't want someone else to pick them up."

"Thank you." Stella said and then she took a step towards him to give him a friendly hug. This time it was his turn to kiss her cheek.

After they got separated again she looked at him in surprise.

"What? Am I not allowed to kiss my best friend? I just wanted to change the roles." Mac said smiling at her and she smiles back.

"I'm just surprised because it's the first time you did it."

"There's always a first time."

"True. There was a first time when I kissed your cheek and there was the first time you did the same thing with me. There will always be a first time that we doing something."

Mac looked at the bag which stood on the bed.

"You're ready to go home?"

"I'm as ready as I ever been."

"Okay then let's go and get you home."

And then they left the room and the hospital. Outside the building Stella stopped and looked seriously at him.

"You really want to take me home?" She asked.

"I wouldn't have come here if I don't want to. I think as your best friend it's my duty to take you home." He said with a small smile.

And then they got into the car and Mac took her home. He escorted her to her apartment door and before she opened the door she turned around to look at him. He just smiled lightly.

"Thank you for taking me home."

"I don't mind. I just wanted to make sure that you get here safe."

"You know there was something I wanted to talk about…"

"I think I know what you want to talk about."

Stella looked at him in surprise, again.

"How can you know that?"

"There were two people telling me the exact same thing last week. I guess that was it you wanted to talk about."

Stella blushed.

"You talked to Lisa didn't you?" she asked and when Mac only smiled at her she asked "What did she told you?"

"She said something like 'I think she loves you.' But she wasn't the only one." Mac answered seriously. Stella blushed again. Mac could see that he said the right thing.

"Who else said that?"

"Lindsay."

Stella looked at him and she looked a little bit shocked. She didn't know what to say but after a few seconds she smiled shyly.

"I guess you were right when you said you know what I wanted to talk about. But now that you said it that directly I'm kind of speechless." Stella admitted.

"Come on Stell is it that hard to tell your best friend about your feelings?" He said and she noticed a little smile on his face.

"If you don't know how he's thinking about it is. I don't know whether I could have talked to you about that the night I wanted to do it… I planned it for that evening but it's still hard."

"You're not prepared for that, right?"

"I actually didn't expect you to say it directly but…"

"Now that I said it you want to know my opinion right?" He interrupted her. She just smiled shyly.

"I never thought about us that way before Lisa told me the first time that she thinks you love me but you know I had quite a lot of time to think about it and as I found you out there and I went to hospital with you… I realized that you mean a lot more to me than I actually thought."

Once again Stella was kind of speechless. She didn't want to say something and even if she would want to she couldn't.

"You know, I really missed you and I was afraid to loose you after we found you."

"So… you feel the same way?" She finally asked.

Now it was his turn to smile shyly. She stepped towards him and hugged him. He kissed her cheek again. Stella moved away to look into his eyes and it was the first time that she saw real love in his eyes when he looked at her.

"Give me a chance to prove it?" He asked and she nodded.

"I love to."

And finally he pulled her close to his body wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her softly.

**THE END**

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**Wasn't that a nice ending? I'm kind of sad that I finally finished this story, because I really enjoy to write it but everything will end somehow and this story ended here. **

**And for all people who are interested: I wrote a little Christmas Story and I'll publish it at christmas day. (December 24th). **

**so... Merry Christmas to everyone!!!**


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